Rainbow - Hinault and Mont Blanc

[dodgy]

Renault TV have made this film available for free on their website and it's also shown on Renault TV channel on Saturday - Channel 651 on Freesat (I don't have channel numbers for hand for other platforms).
http://www.renault.tv/en/entertainment/videos/152653/film-club-rainbow-over-mont-blanc#/entertainment/videos/152653/film-club-rainbow-over-mont-blanc

Enjoy.

 

[gavroche]

Fantastic! Well worth watching. Thank you for posting it.

 

[Jimw]

Many thanks for posting it. Brilliant.
Even though the technology and science of bike racing has changed considerably since then it still comes down to individual brilliance, probably more important then than now to win such a hard race. Hinault came over as a really nice bloke and all so laid back winning what is for professional cyclists probably the most important single race they can win. Even Robert Miller got an extremely brief mention.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Cheers for that, by coincidence I've just got Freesat. Any idea of what time on Saturday?

 

[dodgy]

Well I started the thread on 21st Dec, so it was shown the following Saturday (24th). I watched it online anyway. I've just connected to my house PVR and it's on the following dates/times/channels (651)

Tue 03 Jan 2012
07:37 GMT 651 RENAULT TV Film Club - Rainbow..
07:37 (00:33:00) Over Mont Blanc. A film from the 1980 Cycling World Championships featuring French legend Bernard Hinault.
Fri 06 Jan 2012
07:37 GMT 651 RENAULT TV Film Club - Rainbow..
07:37 (00:33:00) Over Mont Blanc. A film from the 1980 Cycling World Championships featuring French legend Bernard Hinault.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Thanks for that, great film and some lovely looking steel.

Curious that the women wore helmets but the men didn't. Did the UCI make women wear them before the men? If so, I'd love to see the rationale for that.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Thanks for that, great film and some lovely looking steel.

Curious that the women wore helmets but the men didn't. Did the UCI make women wear them before the men? If so, I'd love to see the rationale for that.

I haven't yet seen the film, but I assume you are talking about the old "Hairnet" style of head gear. These were compulsory in amateur racing but not for professionals (GB excepted), and as there was no female professional class back then they would have had to wear them.

 

[Jimw]

There was a mixture of helmets. Some looking like a bunch of sausages, some similiar to mountaineering helmets, and some hard to describe! The one thing they had in common was their usefulness having an "off" coming down Mount Blanc.
I'm not sure when the UCI made men wear helmets, but I recall there was resistance and some talk of "industrial action" of some kind. Maybe the females were less militant.
Talking about female cyclists, Jeannie Longo was competing. what an extremely long, successful career she has had.

 

[Jimw]

Last post should have queried their usefulness!

 

[Smokin Joe]

Helmets became compulsory for professional riders in 2003.

 

[Norry1]

I just watched online - excellent, thanks.

Martin